Name: Freya (2)
Location: Chiswick, London, England
Room Size: 102 square feet
We first glimpsed Freya's room last month, in Rachel & Marc's Bright, Beautiful London Home. This calming space is the result of a group effort; when Rachel was pregnant, a variety of family and friends came to visit the parents-to-be, each leaving their mark on the nursery of the very lucky Freya.
"My husband and brother-in-law laid the linoleum floor, after levelling the hardwood underneath", says Rachel. "I painted the striped wall myself, while Marc's sisters and a friend did the others." With so many hands on deck, Freya's room came together in just one weekend, and feels all the more special for the help of those who awaited her arrival.
Rachel, a footwear designer turned interior designer, also sewed the curtains for her daughter's nursery and customized several pieces of the furniture, including refinishing a chest of drawers with vintage wallpaper and upholstering a toy chest to look like a house. In fact, Rachel found the design process for her daughter's room so inspiring that she's now working on a line of children's furniture.
Style Survey:
How would you describe the look and feel of this room?
A classic scheme with modern touches of colour and detail. The colour scheme has a vintage feel and this has been complemented by my own childhood toys.
What is your favorite piece or element?
The toy chest which I designed to look like a house and made myself. Of course, Freya has since pulled off most of the flowers on it!
What was the biggest challenge decorating this room?
Deciding on flooring which would be soft enough for our daughter to play and crawl on while also being practical and stain resistant. The majority of the house has painted floorboards so we needed something which would work well next to these in the hallway.
What do your friends say about the room?
They all seem to love it!
Do you have any advice for parents creating a room for their child?
Try to pick a colour scheme which has some longevity. You want a nursery which can easily be updated as your children grow without requiring total redecoration. Also choose artwork which you will not be sad to change as your children grow and develop their own ideas. Colour copy images or buy fun wrapping paper. Old pieces of furniture can be updated easily with paint and wallpaper or wrapping paper panels.
If money were no object, what's your dream source?
Skandium and Ferm Living
Source List:
• Paint: Dulux Highland Falls 5
• Cot: John Lewis
• Changing table: Mothercare
• Rug: Primark
• Toy trunk: customised by me
• Chest of drawers: customised by me
• Curtains: made by me
• Blind: IKEA
Thanks, Rachel!
(Images: Eleanor Büsing)
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So sweet! Where did you get the owls for the dresser? Are they decals?
Fabulous - source for the mobile and ABC print? Thanks!!
I wanna know about the yellow chair. We received a similar chair that was my aunts from a Mexico trip my grandfather took. The entire chair is wicker...cracked and broken wicker. Did you re do it or is it not as old as mine????
This is such a beautiful room. I love the toy chest, especially! But what really caught my eye was the blue plaid blanket in the first picture. I think it is the same one that my brother, then I, had when we were babies (late 60s/early 70s). We were born in England but our family moved to California when I was 2 months old.
Thanks for the nice comments.
@good karma - owl paper was from a uk card store called paper chase
@brooklynbeetle - mobile was a gift from munich and abc print is a sheet of gift wrap from a card store in uk called paper chase
@jackied302 - my chair is only about 15 years old and came from Spain originally.
@steph@thesilly pearl - the blanket was my husbands when he was a child. He was born in 72 so I reckon the may well be the same!
Hello!
I love the illustrated alphabet poster and have been on the hunt for something like this. May I ask where you found this one? Thanks so much
@desola17 the alphabet poster is just a piece of wrapping paper from the uk card store paper chase.